Dzükou Tribal Kitchen, which serves Naga food, has
reopened in Delhi. The decor is the same and, thankfully, so is the
food, says Amrita Madhukalya

For those of you lamenting the demise of the
charming little Naga eatery that shut its doors late last year at
Delhi's Hauz Khas Village, Dzükou Tribal Kitchen is back. Housed in a
back alley of the tony neighbourhood, Dzükou had, arguably, the best
view. If you've ever relished their delectable Naga pork ribs, sighing
at the glorious sight of the sun going down on the Hauz-I-Alai while
birds hurried by to their nests, you'd agree.

Just so that you don't buy into a misreading: Dzükou is now no
longer at Hauz Khas Village. It has moved a few doors away to the Hauz
Khas Main market, which along with the neighbouring Safdarjung
Development Area (SDA) community market, has been the biggest
beneficiaries of the exodus of good eating joints from Hauz Khas
Village.

Adding its bit to the ever-growing universe of exotic cuisine in the
capital, Dzükou, in its new avatar, is spacious (it boasts of parking
space). But, once inside, you realise nothing much has changed. There is
the same mural of three Naga tea garden girls, and almost the same
menu. (Thank god for their pork ribs!)

The decor has changed a bit: interior designer Mukul Sood was roped
in to do up the place. The result is a very traditional Naga ambience,
with contemporary, minimalist chic. There is a six-seater and five
eight-seaters, with the provision for Naga shawl blinds to accommodate
more guests. There is a small fountain, where water spews from burnished
bamboo, and the ceiling is dhokuwa, sourced from Assam, a traditional
bamboo weave used as fences in village homes. The façade of a Naga hut
stands in one corner of the room to serve as a bar that is still to open
– the liquor licence is due soon. And there's a space for buffets,
which owner Karen Yopthomi informs me, will also start shortly.

The menu is currently the old Naga menu, and there are plans to
incorporate five dishes each from cuisines of all northeastern states.

We started with the smoked buff salad (Rs279), and the best-selling
Naga pork ribs (Rs349). As with most northeastern food, the meat has
just the right amount of chewiness and is smoked to perfection. The buff
salad is a wee bit hot, and comes with fresh greens like yam leaves,
Naga spring onions and fresh bamboo shoot. We were delighted that the
succulent and crispy pork ribs had not changed at all and was in top
form.

To wash down the starters, we called for the famed fruit beer
(Rs149) next. It tasted better and headier than the pale beers one finds
in Dilli Haat or in the eateries in North Campus, but we must warn you
that it was really sweet.

For the main course, we ordered smoked buff curry (Rs319), chicken
with fresh bamboo shoot (Rs319, there are alternatives of chicken and of
dry bamboo shoot), a side dish of rosep aon (dry, Rs169) and pork
anishi, a paste made of smoked yam leaves (Rs319). The smoked buff curry
is not for the faint-hearted, there are generous dollops of raja
mircha, known as the hottest chilli in the world, and fresh greens. The
chicken with fresh bamboo shoot was full of flavour, and again, a bit
hot. The rosep yon is an assortment of greens like bitter gourd, fresh
bamboo shoot, yam leaves, Naga spring onions, Naga beans, etc. Our
favourite amongst these was pork anishi — the smoked yam and the smoked
pork has a character of its own, and you will most possibly reach out to
more than one serving.

The mains also consisted of steamed rice (Rs99) and an assortment of
chutneys — a smoked chilli-tomato-onion paste, raja mircha chutney with
dry fish and raja mircha chutney with shredded beef (Rs129 each). It
will need a warrior to survive the chilli-tomato-onion paste, but the
raja mircha chutneys came with their own flavours. We strongly recommend
the one with that came peppered with slivers of crispy roast beef.

Dzükou will also host musicians from the northeast, who will come
and perform at the tiny platform.

The Tatseo Sisters performed last
week, and Alobo Naga might perform in the coming few weeks.

Karen, who takes special care of the food cooked in the kitchen,
sources her ingredients all the way from Nagaland. The smoked meats, the
yam leaves, the axhone, the dry mushrooms, the Naga spring onions and
the raja mirchi — all come to the capital on a train. And, I guess,
that's what makes Dzükou's food so authentic and straight out of the
lush valley in Nagaland. And oh, did we tell you that Naga food does not
use any oil to cook us this storm?